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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917960">In Jerusalem This Year</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/capripian/pseuds/capripian'>capripian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>This Year (Sasha Week 2021) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(literally), Abandonment, Childhood Trauma, Found Family, Gen, Implied Sibling Death, Kids! It's her kids!!, Spoilers for Ancient Rome Sidequest (Rusty Quill Gaming)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:21:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,436</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/capripian/pseuds/capripian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 6: Rome</p>
<p>Sasha was an orphan once, a long time ago. She had people who found her, saved her. Gave her a home.</p>
<p>She couldn't save Grizzop, couldn't save the world with the rest, but she can save them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azus &amp; Wilde (Roman Rogues), Sasha Racket &amp; Roman Rogues</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>This Year (Sasha Week 2021) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111829</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Sasha Week 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In Jerusalem This Year</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was written for Sasha Week day 6, Rome. It's about the found family! It's about the literal found family! Sasha is a mom and I love her!</p>
<p>Source for the title of the series and fic is, as always, This Year by the Mountain Goats.</p>
<p>Warnings include childhood trauma, implied death of siblings and parents, abandonment, and injury. None of it is particularly detailed, but she's saving these kids for a reason.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She finds Grizz first. She’s still young, and it’s only been a month or two since she came to Rome. She speaks Latin now, wears the tunics Cicero finds for her without complaint, but it’s not home. Not yet. She still misses Grizzop, in the sharp and piercing way you do before time wears down the grief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s small, pale skin and reddish curls and pointed birdlike bones poking out from taut skin. She saw plenty like him in Other London, what feels like a lifetime ago. People who didn’t get enough food, who had to crawl into little cramped spaces to hide. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sasha didn’t get enough food. Sasha crawled into little cramped spaces to hide. She wonders if that’s why she’s so quick to pull him out from the nook in the rubble and whisper that he’ll be okay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t believe her. She wouldn’t have believed her either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s your name?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shakes his head wildly, stuttering over his words. “I don’t- I don’t... I’m s-sorry, please don’t hurt me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She doesn’t. She never will, she tells herself, and she keeps that promise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid tugs away from her, and she lets him go without resisting. He runs back to his place, expression stubborn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What- what are you doing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My brothers and sisters a-are coming back, I-” he pauses, and curls his arms around his knees with a sob. “They told me to wait h-here, I’m not leaving.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sits to be on the same level as him, a few feet away from his hidey-hole. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few minutes, she speaks. “What’re they like?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your brothers and sisters, what’re they like?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He starts to shake a little, holding onto his knees. “They went to find our parents, they- they said they’d come back. They said they’d c-come back, and I should stay here and wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long has it been?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A f-few days? But they’re coming back. T-they have to come back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sasha can see the kid choking up on his tears slightly, and she pats his shoulder lightly. She sees the place he looks to, the towns recently destroyed by the soon-to-be Meritocrats. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll be okay. They’ll come back. In the meantime, do you want to come with me? We have food, and you can sleep in a bed."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"B-but I can't leave, what if they-" he sniffles. "What if they come back and I'm not there?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sasha has to pause and think for a moment to find what's best to do. Kids can be stubborn, and he can't be more than three. "Tell you this, what if I go and come back with food?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Later, she'll hold him through his shuddering sobs as he realizes they're not coming back. He still doesn't know his name. She thinks of a friend who lost his whole clutch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grizz grows up safe with her, and she hopes Grizzop can see his namesake from where he's gone. </span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>Next is Amidus. She doesn't find him, actually. It's Cicero who does, bringing back a toddler who clings to his toga with insistent hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I found him in the market, he doesn't even have a name, and-" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nods, not really listening to Cicero’s continued babbling. The little boy is olive-skinned and freckled, and his eyes are dark and wide. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hello," she says softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ducks behind Cicero a little bit, before peeking his head out to look at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's alright, you can come out."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cicero gesticulates. "I don't think he quite understands languages yet? He's quite small, you see, and-" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nods in understanding, and then smiles. "Seems like he likes you, though."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, I- he-" Cicero stutters for a moment. "I suppose he does." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Going to become a little scholar?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> been looking for an apprentice." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She thinks of dark eyes and knowledge. They can't quite get the 'h' sound right, but Amidus still becomes a proper businessman. After he grows out of his radical phase, of course. </span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>Azus and Wilde come on the same day, funny enough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sasha's walking through the lands around the villa, checking to see if anything is amiss. The dragons have stopped actively destroying things, but Rome is in ruins. The areas around haven't fared much better, even if her villa remained unscathed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It turns out that when you destroy a huge empire, chaos follows. No surprise. Plenty of kids have been orphaned just by fighting amongst humans, no Meritocrats necessary. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A crying sound echoes from under a stone-lined stream near the villa, part of a series of aqueducts. She rushes over, familiar by now with what to do for children in distress. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There are two of them. She blinks in surprise. That's never happened before. The boy is blond and ruddy, the girl dark-skinned with long curls. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy holds a colorful piece of fabric, and the girl grabs for it back. Sasha recognizes now that the crying is not one of distress, but one of indignance. They don't seem to have noticed her yet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She approaches quietly, and clears her throat. "Uh. Hello?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the boy looks to her in surprise, the girl snatches the scrap of fabric from him in triumph and runs her hands across it. Then she too notices Sasha, and jumps. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They don't say anything to her, and she wonders if they can yet. The girl mutters something to the boy, eyes wide in alarm. He looks younger, but stands between them with a child's impression of a stern look. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Stay away." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She backs up a few steps in response. "Are you okay? Where are your parents?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looks confused, but stays in front of the girl. Interesting. She remembers another protector, brave enough to petition a dragon for her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Stay. Away." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay, I'm away."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They're not wearing the same style of dress, and beyond that they're clearly not related. They must have found each other after they were lost. Or, no, not lost. Abandoned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl keeps holding on to her bit of fabric. It looks soft, and brightly colored, and she remembers a peacock of a man who she commiserated with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They're inseparable, even after she coaxes them back to the villa with promises of food and shelter. They keep on squabbling, but Azus the little thief and Wilde’s swan whistle go hand in hand in Sasha's memory. </span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>Sagax comes to her, not the other way around. His hair is long, he wears a girl's tunic, and he shows up on her doorstep with a knife in his shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she walks out and sees him, unsteady and weak and gritting his teeth in determination, it's easy to remember stumbling into Bi Ming’s shop after Barrett’s boys messed her up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hello. Do you need help?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child shakes his head firmly. "I can do it on my own, I just need your supplies." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He must be only seven or eight- not old enough to do it on his own, or at least he shouldn't have to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay, I'll let you in. Do you need food, water-" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I just need some bandages." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nods. "Alright, come in and get some." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While she walks with him to the makeshift room they use for an infirmary, she takes a closer look. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The knife in his shoulder is rusty, and Sasha grimaces. That'll be difficult to deal with without it being infected. She'll have to talk to Grizz about it, see if Opis and her horn of plenty could help. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's your name?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitates. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's okay if you don't remember." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, I remember," he says quickly, "I'm not a little kid. It's just I don't like it." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sasha catches on. "That's fine, then. If you want I can give you another one." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not staying here," he says, firm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay, then I won't. But if you need anything, I'll be here." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugs with his unharmed shoulder. "Yeah, I know. The kids in the village talk about you, you know. How you take people in."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are they who stabbed you?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't have to tell you anything." The boy pauses, and grimaces in pain before saying it anyway. "... It was a merchant. He caught me taking some food." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you want some food?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I can get it myself, I don’t need it from you." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His fierce independence and defiance remind her of someone else. A cleric, who didn't need their help even with no legs to stand on. Unlike him, Sagax comes back. </span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>When Sasha passes, at an age she never thought she'd reach, she has family all around her. She didn't save the world, but she saved them. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this, please leave comments or kudos.</p>
<p>You can follow me on Tumblr at @capripian and @capripian-arts, or talk to me on discord at fey dyke#2644.</p>
<p>If I've made any typos point 'em out in the comments and I'll fix them.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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